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Saturday, 15 December 2012

In June 1995 my
father made the wise decision to take me out of school for the day to go see a
1st-summer Hobby that was frequenting the reed fringed channels down
at Kilcoole. Whether this was an attempt to spark an interest in birding or
whether he just wanted to go see the Hobby himself anyway and had to bring me
along I’ll never know. Either way, it worked!

Hobby

After that we frequently went birding to Kilcoole and Newcastle together.
Whilst we had no car at the time a handy bus service brought us all the way from
our home in South Dublin to Newcastle village. A quick stop in the shop for a
Mint Cornetto became a mandatory start to the day before walking down Newcastle
Sea Road, out onto the beach at Six Mile Point and then North along the coast,
scanning the sea and marshes before catching the bus home several hours later
from Kilcoole village. A perfect system.

The patch boundaries

With the acquisition of a family car a few years later, birding
trips with my father branched out to sites such as Tacumshin Lake, the North
Slob and Great Saltee...but always on a Sunday. As such, Saturdays were my own
which I spent working the patch route set out in previous years. This solo
birding gave me the chance to figure things out for myself (the tricky juv
wader roosting on the beach or the funny passerine call coming from the scrub)
and also resulted in a few nice finds. I remember getting particularly buzzed
over a flock of 14 Pink-footed Geese that pitched in one cold winter’s morning
and the fine male Long-tailed Duck diving in the channels during a late autumn
storm. Not that these birds are national rarities, but that’s not the point. I
was beginning to learn what patch birding was about.

The beach at Kilcoole has hosted one of the largest Little Tern breeding
colonies (50-100 pairs) in Ireland for many years now thanks to a joint
wardening effort by BirdWatch Ireland and the National Parks & Wildlife
Service. Seeing the work the wardens put in to keeping these birds safe was an
inspiration, so much so that I started volunteering on the project at the age
of 16 and in May 2010, after finishing college, became a Seabird Fieldworker
with BirdWatch Ireland. I’ve wardened the Little Tern colony at Kilcoole for three
seasons now, living on site for a total of nine months, adding a new dimension
to birding on the patch.

With a
current patch total of 198, I’m hoping that taking part in the Patchwork
Challenge will bring me over the big 200 (bogeys of Iceland Gull & Whinchat
need to be sorted out), lead to a nice find (Lesser Sand Plover in July thank
you very much) as well as provide a good excuse for me to go birding there more
than usual!

Essentially
the patch consists of a series of coastal mashes separated from the Irish Sea
by a North-South railway line, low sand dune and shingle beach. The whole
stretch of coast is fairly linear save for a slight ‘bump’ at the South end at
Six Mile Point which does its best to attract in migrants. A right of way
exists through the dunes and whilst popular with the local public and dog walkers,
it also provides a perfect vantage point onto the marshes and out to sea at the
same time.

Ballygannon: An area of
reedbed surrounded by willow scrub and gardens. This is the most regular site
for singing Reed Warbler. Best of all was a Yellow-browed Warbler which spent a
few days with a roving tit flock on the laneway here in Nov 2011. Patch MEGA!

Shingle Beach & Sand Dune: Runs all
the way along the Eastern boundary. In addition to the Little Tern colony here
in summer it hosts breeding Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Skylark and Reed
Bunting. This whole stretch is good for Wheatears, pipits, wagtails, occasionally
Snow Buntings (winter) and Lapland Bunting (Sept) as well as providing a day
roost site for waders from the marsh. Rarities seen here include Buff-breasted
Sandpiper, Sabine’s Gull and Short-toed Lark. A Shore Lark will turn up here
someday!

Lapland Bunting

Offshore: Wintering species consist
of Red-throated Diver, Shag and auks. Great Northern Divers and Great Crested
Grebes are infrequently encountered and sea duck merely pass by with Common
Scoter being the only regular. Spring and Autumn seawatching can be quite
productive in NE or SE winds, although finding a suitable sheltered spot can be
difficult and you’re generally quite low to the water. Arctic Skua, Great Skua,
Storm Petrel, Black Tern and Puffin will all be seen over a couple of good days
seawatching a year. I’ve had Balearic Shearwater twice, Sooty Shearwater once,
Pomarine Skua four times and Long-tailed Skua twice. Needless to say, a Great
Shearwater would be awesome! Gulls migrate North-South along the coast,
especially in Spring. Amongst these I have seen 3 Glaucous Gulls between April
and June.

“Webb’s Field”: A brackish lagoon
runs through a well grazed field which floods from time to time during the
winter. Owned by the National Parks & Wildlife Service. This is the hub of
wildfowl and wader activity (Light-bellied Brent Goose, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler,
Golden Plover, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Grebe, Little Egret etc). Flocks
of Dunlin and Ringed Plover feed along the muddy channel edges and wet flashes
on passage. These areas should be checked carefully for scarce and rare
everything! In this field alone I have seen: Tundra Bean Goose (2), Blue-winged Teal, Smew, Spoonbill, Osprey
(2), Gyrfalcon, American Golden Plover (2), White-rumped Sandpiper (2),
Pectoral Sandpiper (2), Buff-breasted Sandpiper (4), Wilson's Phalarope (3) and
Red-necked Phalarope. Scarce species such as Dark-bellied Brent Goose,
Green Sandpiper and Ruff are annual but Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Spotted
Redshank, Wood Sandpiper and Garganey are a little bit more hit and miss.
Yellow Wagtails used to breed around here once upon a time, but they have gone
by the wayside now.

Webb's Field

“The Breaches”: A small estuary with
some relict salt marsh along its boundary. Flows out to sea splitting the beach
and essentially the site into Kilcoole (to the North) and Newcastle (to the
South). The outflow can block during strong Easterly winds causing a back up of
water onto the marsh. When the outflow is open the estuary runs at a normal
rhythm, attracting in day roosting gulls and good patch waders like Bar-tailed
Godwit, Grey Plover and Knot as well as regularly hosting Kingfisher and Otter.
Rarities seen here include Ring-billed Gull & Black Redstart.

“Stringer’s Channels”: Reed-fringed,
freshwater channels on private farmland, owned by the Stringer family...hence
the name! A good place to see diving duck which are scarce on the patch. Found
a Ring-necked Duck here in Oct 2008, a few days after The Punks had the flock
of 15 on Inishmore. A good spot for hirundines and Swifts also. The fields
inland from Stringer’s Channels and The Breaches hold Whooper Swans and Greylag
Geese in winter which pull in Bewick’s, Pink-feet, Greenland White-front and
Barnacle from time to time. A Cattle Egret was found here in Nov 2007, the
vanguard of the influx which was to follow and the ‘last good one’ according to
the finder!

Newcastle Airfield: Another area of
rough grazing and reedbeds, good for raptors (Hen Harrier, Short-eared Owl and
Merlin). Lacks the open water found at other sections of the site. The airstrip
is quite active, especially at the weekends and whilst looking good for a rare
plover holds little more than flocks of Curlew.

Blackditch East Coast Nature Reserve:
In 2003, BirdWatch Ireland purchased this 93ha area of land South of Newcastle
Sea Road. Rarely visited during the early years of patch birding, the site
became open to me when I volunteered on the reserve. Now decked out with a
series of walkways through wet grassland, alkaline fen and wet birch woodland
leading to hides viewing out over scrapes and ditches where wintering wildfowl,
waders & breeding warblers can be seen. A feeding station has attracted
Brambling whilst the birch woodland has added Jay, Long-eared Owl, Treecreeper,
Crossbill and the recently arrived Great Spotted Woodpecker to the mix. Without
a doubt my most important site for passerines on the patch. Rarities seen here
include Red-rumped Swallow, Alpine Swift and Siberian Chiffchaff.